Dark Age of Camelot: Labyrinth of the Minotaur

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By Robert 'Apache' Howarth

Mythic's latest expansion in the Dark Age of Camelot universe is called Labyrinth of the Minotaur. Included is the single largest dungeon ever constructed in a massively multiplayer game, a new unlockable player class, five new champion levels, a new inventory slot, mini-Minotaur relics, a treasure trove of new drops, and chaotic battlegrounds-inspired, realm-vs.-realm combat. The champion abilities are still capped at Level 5, so don't expect getting 20% resist buffs or anything crazy. You do gain a pretty nice bump up in hit points and power pool for every new champion level gained, plus a fancy new title as well.

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Located beneath the recently added Island of Agramon, the Labyrinth can be accessed via a ruined tower past the bridgeheads of each realm. There is an alternate entrance by each of the maze towers in New Frontiers as well. The dungeon consists of four primary levels; the top features mainly lower-level monsters and is mostly used as a thoroughfare. The second level heads to the central hub (think big arena-type area) where most of the realm-vs.-realm combat takes place, and the third and fourth levels sport most of the bosses, Mino-relics and encounters. Players can activate obelisks that serve as teleportation devices, which makes Labyrinth navigation much faster.

The new class in the expansion is the Mauler, a hybrid melee character that uses either staves or fist weapons, with a strong self-buffing line, banelord-type interrupts and vampiir-esque abilities. What makes the Mauler unique is that your realm has to actually unlock it by capturing X number of Minotaur relics, so not everyone has access to it yet. As far as the Mino-relics themself go, each provides a different personal, group-based or realm area-effect power. Only one relic can be carried per group, and a big-ass light radiating over the carrier's head makes that person a prime target. Some of the beneficial auras include: buffs to healing spells, increased damage, shape change, siege buffs and there are even ones for stealth classes.

Each of the new boss mobs has a unique one-time drop that each player gets. A lot of the Mino-relic mobs have them as well. Overall, the quality of the loot is rather good, but don't expect anything more powerful than Trials of Atlantis items. There are no new artifacts in Labyrinth of the Minotaur. The new Mythical items drop from any mob in the dungeon. Typically, the deeper you go, the better the Mythical items get. One downside is that they're bound to you when equipped, so make sure not to put it on if you want to sell or trade the item later. The powers they have range from stat caps (up to Level 10 is the rumor), added resistances, health and power regeneration, faster siege operation and more.

The expansion really doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it's a lot better than last year's offering of Darkness Rising. What makes it so great is that it offers players a centralized area for realm-vs.-realm combat with action going on 24/7. It does get a little laggy, but people on higher-end machines really shouldn't notice it very much. The client is still based on the older Catacombs engine, but it's much more stable due to the fact that Mythic locked down a lot of memory leaks and other older, nagging issues. Visually, the game looks nice cranked up, even by today's standards, but you can't use those settings and expect a lag-free experience. Classic models in the LotM client offer a great balance of performance and visual appeal. If you enjoy battlegrounds-style gameplay, you can't go wrong RvR'ing in the Labyrinth.

Labyrinth of the Minotaur might've gone live a little too soon, as the launch was a bit on the buggy side. A lot of the Mythical items still don't work; for the first week there were no line-of-sight checks inside the dungeon, making exploits a problem; plus a few features seemingly didn't make it into the game. That's not to say Mythic won't patch it later (historically, the company has a good background at updating the game), but it is an issue.

What makes LotM so fun, though, is realm-vs.-realm combat inside the dungeon. If you thought Thidranki was fun, you will probably never leave the Labyrinth except to stock up on potions and to train realm abilities. Normally undesirable classes to an 8x8 group thrive inside, and it's a lot more fun than traditional New Frontiers-style gameplay.